Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction -...

A Guide with Resources for Content Area Teachers

By Christine M. Theroux

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction

1 Theroux 2012

Notes Page Writing and/or reading lessons I would like to develop/co-teach/assess with

Christine:

Ideas with which Christine and/or the librarian could support:

Vocabulary knowledge

General knowledge about topic

Familiarity of text structure

Comprehension and monitoring strategies

Other:

2 Theroux 2012

Why is Literacy Instruction Necessary in

Content Area Classrooms?

Middle and high school students typically do not have reading

instruction after 6th grade (Alexander & Fox, 2011).

Text changes through the grades, becoming more demanding

in their length and complexity.

Adolescents usually find texts challenging due to lack of:




Comprehension and monitoring strategies to help them

understand what they are reading (Lee & Spratley, 2010).

3 Theroux 2012

What Tier 1 Literacy Instruction Should Look Like

1. Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction

WHY? It has been proven more effective in helping students increase

comprehension of text rather than teaching reading strategies in

isolation.

2. Increased Opportunities to Read Content Area Text

WHY? Like when playing an instrument or a sport, the more students

practice reading, the better they get---increasing speed and

comprehension.

3. Differentiate Reading Materials

WHY? It helps students access content.

4. Assess Literacy Progress

WHY? It helps guide instruction and determines if students require a

more intensive intervention.

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1. Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction What Is It?

Teaching how to read/write in the discipline vs. general

reading skills

Looking at how experts use literacy in the field and then

applying it to content area classrooms

Using the commonly applied reading and thinking

strategies in different ways across disciplines It is important for teachers to:

1) Have a clear understanding how texts are being used in their

classroom

2) Be able to demonstrate how to use it

3) Seek assistance from the literacy specialist and

the librarian

5 Theroux 2012

Disciplinary Literacy vs Content Area Reading

Key Topic is about …

So What? (What’s important to understand about this?)

Nature of Skills

Addressed

Important Details Important Details Important Details Important Details Important Details

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, there are specific reading and writing standards for each content area that could

present challenges for teachers. To meet this challenge, it will be important to understand differences between content area reading and

disciplinary literacy, as well as how you can use a literacy specialist/coach to streamline the process of helping struggling readers access

your content. Disciplinary literacy differs from content area reading in a number of ways, including:

Let me collaborate with you in “apprenticing” students to understand how to read in your discipline.

Content area reading

focuses on reading

skills that can apply to

any reading assignment

in any content area.

Disciplinary literacy

promotes specialized

skills and activities

targeted to specific

content areas. A set of

literacy skills that helps

students learn

chemistry

might not be useful in

literature or history.


promotes the use of

reading and writing

to study and learn,

where as disciplinary

literacy focuses on

how literacy is used

to make meaning

within a discipline.

Its Focus Targeted

Students

Content area reading tends

to be used in more remedial

settings. Disciplinary

literacy for high school

students needs to be more

highly specific strategy,

with the students

understanding under what

circumstance it should be

used. Teaching struggling

readers the literacy secrets

of belonging in the

science, math or literature

communities is as

beneficial for the students

as it is appealing for the

teacher.

Types of

Texts Used

The Role of

Graphics


often promotes general

interpretive skills for

gaining meaning from

graphics or ignores

graphics altogether.


identifies what is special

about the role of graphics

in different disciplines

and aims to help students

understand the kinds of

information that can be

obtained from different

types of graphics. In

some content areas, such

as chemistry, graphics

and text are of equal

importance in understanding

and learning material.

Content area reading often

promotes reading plays,

poems, novels, or short

stories in content classes

such as math, science and

history. Disciplinary

literacy focuses only on

disciplinary text, where the

use of language and

grammar may differ

dramatically from

discipline to discipline.


strategies help students

understand the language

of chemistry when reading

chemistry texts or the

language of math in math

textbooks.

6

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction Common strategies used across content areas:

Building specialized vocabulary

Building prior knowledge

Learning to deconstruct complex sentences

Using knowledge of text structures and genres

Mapping graphic and mathematical representations against

explanations in text

Posing discipline relevant questions

Comparing claims and propositions across text and evaluating

them

7 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction

For example…

ELA – Teach students how to use literary devices to interpret

complex fictional texts

Foreign Language – Model for students how to approach text in a

different language using a step-by-step process

Math – Show students how to read text with precision by teaching

the importance of reading slowly and looking for specific meanings

Science – Demonstrate how to transform information from one

form to another

History and Social Sciences – Illustrate how to evaluate sources

and analyze evidence

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2. Increased Opportunities to Read

Content Area Text Teachers of content are expected to:

1. Provide students with excessive opportunities to read

content area text

Librarians can assist with finding a variety of

texts that are reading level appropriate and interesting.

2. Demonstrate how to apply literacy strategies for the

various types

3. Afford students multiple opportunities to independently

struggle with text and apply disciplinary literacy

strategies

A literacy specialist can help with devising ways of demonstrating

and supporting students in their independent practice

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The Common Core standards have the goal of

students reading at or near grade level (Common

Core Standards, 2010).

If students are not meeting the standard, reading

materials need to be differentiated as often as

possible.

Librarians are an amazing resource

for finding appropriate leveled materials

across all disciplines.

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3. Differentiate Reading Materials Teachers of content are recommended to assign the following

types of text:

Challenging texts with associated explanations

Texts at the zone of proximal development

A balanced diet of texts at varying difficulty

Texts tailored to develop particular reading components

When students are not reading at or near grade level, materials

can be differentiated by assigning paired texts that use the

same topic and different levels.

A librarian or literacy specialist can help.

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Although content area teachers do not typically

assess literacy progress, they can inform the literacy

specialist of students having difficulty reading grade-

appropriate text, who will then take the next

appropriate steps in determining the student’s

literacy needs Cloze or Maze test

In the meantime, a librarian can help find grade-level

appropriate text and books of interest.

12 Theroux 2012

Why is Literacy Instruction Necessary in

Content Area Classrooms? Middle and high school students typically do not have

reading instruction after 6th grade (Alexander & Fox, 2011). Provide the literacy specialist with the names of students who are struggling so that s/he may

get the necessary assistance and instruction

Text changes through the grades, becoming more demanding

in their length and complexity. Librarians can assist with finding varied and appropriate leveled texts

Adolescents usually find texts challenging due to lack of: Vocabulary knowledge




Meet the needs of students challenged in these areas by collaborating

with the literacy specialist 13

Theroux 2012

Who Is Available to Support

1. Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction

Literacy Specialist

2. Increased Opportunities to Read Content Area Text

Librarian

Literacy Specialist


Librarian


Literacy Specialist

14 Theroux 2012

New Role as Literacy Specialist & Coach

The literacy specialist and coach for both high schools who supports teachers with: Instruction, content planning, assessment and classroom management ANY activity or lesson involving reading or writing Transition to the Common Core’s emphasis on literacy across all content areas

Support could involve: Co-constructing lessons or Content Enhancement devices Co-teaching or modeling Providing professional development in Content Enhancement, Common Core, or

other evidenced-based practices

What is different about my position? Confidential, on-site resource who is licensed in Reading (All Levels), Special

Needs (PreK-12), Administrator (9-12), and Elementary (1-6) 12 years of classroom experience with adolescents challenged in the areas of

literacy and behavior, prior to being hired as the literacy coach in 2006 How I support is ultimately your choice and based on your level of comfort,

ranging from assistance behind-the-scenes, all the way to teaching full segments of a class period.

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Ideas for Reading With Literacy Specialist/Coach Find appropriate leveled text and/or ways to help students access

information when text level is higher than their ability

Address Common Core Literacy Standards without losing more time

away from curriculum

Incorporate a formal reading strategy into a lesson

Devise ways of apprenticing students to read like a scientist,

mathematician, literary critic, historian, health practitioner, artist,

musician, mechanic, welder, chef, educator, etc.

Determine in what areas your students need the most support

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Ideas for Writing With Literacy Specialist/Coach 1. Develop a lesson for a 1-3 paragraph Open Response or a 5-paragraph Essay:

Using an MCAS Prompt

In response to an article or video

After participating in an experiment or demonstration

2. Create a rubric for use with students that:

Promotes writing instruction that helps students meet the Common Core standards

Assesses what it is supposed to

Is easy and more efficient to correct

3. Modify past research assignments

Based on research gathered from the library databases, write a persuasive essay supporting your point of view.

Creationism vs. Darwinism.

4. Assist with providing student support during the writing or revision process

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How the Librarian Supports Literacy

The school library media program promotes

reading as a foundational skill for learning,

personal growth and enjoyment.

A librarian addresses multiple literacies by:

Providing instruction that addresses information literacy, media

literacy, visual literacy, and technology literacy

Promoting critical thinking by connecting learners with the

world of information in multiple formats

Stimulating critical thinking through the use of learning

activities that involve application, analysis, evaluation and

creativity

18 Theroux 2012

Role of the Librarian

Supporting your students and classroom:

Models reading strategies in formal and informal instruction

Collaborates with the teacher and literacy specialist to integrate reading

strategies into lessons and units of instruction

Acquires and promotes current, high quality, high-interest collections of

books and other reading resources in multiple formats

Supporting the school community:

Develops initiatives to encourage and engage learners in reading, writing and listening

for understanding and enjoyment

Fosters reading for various pursuits, including personal pleasure, knowledge and ideas

Creates an environment where independent reading is valued, promoted and

encouraged

Motivates learners to read through read aloud, book-talking, displays, exposure to

authors and other means

Creates opportunities to involve parents and other family members in reading

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What Is Used in Your Content Area? WRITING

How do you help students organization information?

Outline or Frame

READING

How do we build vocabulary knowledge?

How do we build general knowledge about topic?

How do we help students use knowledge of text structure and genres?

What comprehension and monitoring strategies do we use to understand reading?

20 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for ELA WRITING

Organization of information

Outline or Frame

READING


LINC

Context Strategy


Teach students how to use literary devices to interpret complex fictional texts

Activate and/or provide background knowledge of author/time period


Read with them to help them use text structure as clues and graphic organizers as means of tracking

and understanding the causes, examples and/or consequences, etc.

Understand the different types, such as memoir, expository, poetry, etc.


Pose discipline relevant questions before reading

Compare claims and propositions across text and evaluate them

Frame with quotes/significance

Frame with themes, or a literary device, to identify during reading 21

Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for

History and Social Studies WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC


Activate and/or provide background knowledge



and understanding the causes, effects, examples and/or consequences, etc.


Show how to evaluate sources and analyze evidence

Demonstrate how to transform information from one form (primary and secondary sources) to

another (visual and oral presentations)



Frame with concepts or definitions to identify during reading

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Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for History and Social Studies

READING

History Memory Bubbles Strategy

1. Have students analyze key vocabulary or facts in terms of their connection to a problem/solution

text frame by eliciting with questions, such as:

What is this fact? What does it have to do with problems discussed in the chapter? What does it

have to do with changes highlighted in this chapter?

2. Students identify key terms or facts from a section they have read, but then asked to concentrate on

information that focuses attention on key themes and ideas, NOT background details.

3. Place a transparency of a blank History Memory Bubble on the overhead projector and model using

a key term. Besides identifying and providing a definition, ask students to consider the problems

connected to this term and list them.

4. Partner students and have them work together to create History Memory Bubbles for the

remainder of the terms, then share out with the entire class.

23 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for History and Social Studies READING

Reading Like a Historian Strategy - SC3

Alert students to what they should be doing before reading and model during

whenever possible

Sourcing

Consider the document’s author and purpose for the creation

Look for the author/creator, date, publisher, type of document, purpose of document, etc.

Determine what the information tells us about the document, its context and possible bias

Contextualizing

Situate the primary source in place and time

Ask what is happening at the time of the creation of the document and how might the events

influence this document?

Look at both micro and macro context

Close Reading

Read carefully and consider what the source says and the language used to say it

Look for powerful words, repetition, patterns in word use, and key phrases

Corroborating

Compare to other sources to support conclusions or identify disparities

24 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for

Foreign Language WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC

Use of context clues to read around unknown words in order to determine meaning

Write English meanings above words you already understand





and understanding the processes, examples and/or concepts, etc.


Model for students how to approach text in a different language using a step-by-step process



Use of Frame to identify patterns/concepts during reading

25 Theroux 2012

Theroux 2012 26

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Math WRITING

Journal Entry – writing to learn


Outline or Frame

READING

General Knowledge about Topic


Familiarity of Text Structure


and understanding the processes, examples and/or concepts, etc.

Vocabulary Knowledge

LINC

Ways of deciphering words:

Translation, Conceptual Writing, Verbalize, Symbolize, Sequence, Decompose sentences and phrases, &

Background knowledge

From UCTM Annual Math Conference 2009:

Use math vocabulary daily in informal, language so that it becomes part of students’ receptive

vocabulary. Then encourage it to become part of students’ active vocabulary through plenty of

practice.

Vocabulary lists for each grade level are cumulative--they are added to the previous grade levels.

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Math

Task: We all read Amy Benjamin’s The Role of Literacy in Mathematics Education article. Let’s discuss

the most salient points as they relate to your understanding of literacy in mathematical teaching &

learning.

Quotes that resonated:

“Literacy is not a separate subject from math. All students need to understand definitions beyond

the ability to recite them. All students need to decipher what written mathematical problems are

asking them to do and that requires good old-fashioned reading comprehension.”

-Amy Benjamin (p.1)

“The developers of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics clearly require a high degree

of language processing in mathematics education. The expectation is that students demonstrate an

underlying comprehension of concepts, not just execute an algorithm.”

-Amy Benjamin (p.2)

27 Theroux 2012


What does “2” Mean in Each Example?

UCTM Annual Math

Conference 2009

2

To

Too

Two

24

½

102

ft2


Guiding Principle #5:

Literacy Across the Content Areas

An effective mathematics program builds and

develops students’ literacy skills and knowledge.

“Reading, writing, and communication skills are necessary elements of learning

and engaging in mathematics, as well as in other content areas. Supporting the

development of students’ literacy skills will allow them to deepen their

understanding of mathematics concepts and help them to determine the

meanings of symbols, key terms, and mathematics phrases, as well as to develop

reasoning skills that apply across the disciplines.”

-Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics, 2011


How can we help students to make more sense of math

problems…

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Math …and persevere in solving them?

Isabel Beck et al. (2002) suggest that for instructional purposes, teachers should

ignore Tier One and Tier Three words and concentrate on Tier Two words. Their

argument is that most students already know Tier One words and that Tier Three

words should be taught at point of contact, or as they occur in reading. Tier Two words,

however, appear often in student texts, so they are the words that can add most to

students’ language knowledge.


Math Words with Multiple Meanings

Prime 1. Define prime in a mathematical context.

2. Define prime in another context and use it in a sentence.

3. Look at Visual Thesaurus® and discuss:

What other Tier II math words do you expect

students to know at your grade level?



VOCABULARY NOTECARDS

DEFINITION EXAMPLE

NON-EXAMPLE PICTURE


Building a Math Vocabulary Word Wall

Organized collection of words displayed in large letters on wall

Post vocabulary with precise, simple, child-friendly definitions

Effectiveness depends on incorporating word wall into daily

instruction and discussions

Teacher & students build together=interactive, cumulative


Math Journal Entry/Prompt

Pretend you are a multiplication sign. Tell me about a typical day at school for a multiplication sign. Try to include some vocabulary words from the word wall.


Standards for Mathematical Practice

(Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics)

Guiding Principle #5: An effective mathematics

program builds and develops students’ literacy skills and

knowledge.

SMP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving

them.

SMP6: Attend to precision.


Theroux 2012 38

Vocabulary Knowledge (continued)

Word Walls for Math: Students have to interact with a word 8-10 times

before they own the word.

Math Journals - Asking students an explanation to a difficult problem – they

are writing to learn. Asking students to write down specific vocabulary.

Asking students to write down thinking strategies.

Three Truths and a Lie – caveat is to make sure that you correct the lie

before the students leave, so that they remember the truth – not the lie.

Simon Says - motions

Introducing the words first – Preview the words before using them in the

class

Using Concrete Visuals – (Bunny Fufu)

Centers – memory games

Exit tickets – for getting the word definition correct at the end of class

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Math READING (continued)


Show students how to read text with precision by teaching the importance of reading slowly and looking

for specific meanings. Often students glide over math text in an attempt to jump right into solving

problems and relying on the teacher to clear up misunderstandings.

Use the Math Reading Keys strategy

1. Questioning the Author (QtQ): What does the author assume that I already know? What

previous math concepts does this author expect me to remember?

2. Model how to read challenging text by reproducing pages on an overhead and have

students follow in their textbooks as the teacher thinks aloud and highlights hidden

knowledge

3. Hand out copies of the Math Reading Keys Bookmark

4. Partnered Reading

5. Encourage students to compile explanations and translations of key terms. Urge students

to treat difficult math language the same way as they would a foreign language. Keep a

classroom dictionary of key math terms.

Scan the Text, Read Slowly, Pause, Read Example Problems, Learn New Words, Re-Read

Mapping graphic and mathematical representations against explanations in text



Use a Frame with any of these strategies to make it interactive

39 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Science

WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC




Read with them to help them use text structure as clues and graphic organizers as means of tracking and

understanding the causes, effects, examples, processes, and/or concepts, etc.


Demonstrate how to transform information from one form to another

Mapping graphic and mathematical representations against explanations in text




40 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for P.E.

& Health, Child Development and Culinary WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC





and understanding the causes, effects, examples and/or consequences, etc.


Show how to evaluate sources and analyze evidence




41 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for CTE

WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC





Read with them to help them use text structure as clues and graphic organizers as means of tracking and

understanding the causes, effects, examples, processes, concepts and/or consequences, etc.





42 Theroux 2012

Discipline-Specific Strategy Instruction for Fine Arts

WRITING


Outline or Frame

READING


LINC





When reading articles about art or music, what should students be aware of and look for?


and understanding the causes, effects, examples, processes, and/or concepts, etc.





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Theroux 2012

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